In 1988, on alternate months I would travel with work colleagues from UK to Holland, for a two day meeting. One particular month, we were due to fly from Newcastle, but I had left my passport in a house near London. The day after my workmates departed, I drove 200 miles to pick up my passport then flew out to Amsterdam. On arrival, I picked up a hire car and travelled to meet my colleagues in Rotterdam. However, I got hopelessly lost on route. Eventually, I arrived a day and a half late for the meeting; a record for me. My poor planning put me in a difficult position.
Clear thinking principles
Clear Thinking is the title of a new book by Shane Parrish. Here are five principles covered in the book:
Positioning determines our future
Desired behaviour as default
Avoid the results of the herd
Embrace responsibility
Prioritise outcomes over ego
1. Positioning determines our future
Improving decision quality is about increasing our chances of good outcomes, not guaranteeing them. - Annie Duke
We give ourselves the best chance of making good decisions when we are in a good position. There is a natural inclination to think short term. Insufficient focus is put on making sure we are in a strong position to make the decision. We put ourselves in poor positions when we don’t exercise, sleep or prepare adequately. It can be hard to appreciate that, in the long run, those that consistently put themselves in strong positions significantly outperform others who do not. The best way to put yourself in a good position is with good preparation. A good position enables us to think clearly, make wise decisions and optimise outcomes. Help Luck Find Us explores different types of luck and how positioning is no accident.
2. Desired behaviour as default
We can turn desired behaviour into our default behaviour. It’s a challenge to ditch our bad habits and adopt good ones. We start out off positively, e.g. a New Year’s resolution, but willpower alone is not enough to sustain us. A measure we can put in place to help us is an automatic rule. From childhood, we are taught to follow rules, but not how to benefit from them. We can put in place personal rules that do benefit us.
Consider the following. We want to lose weight and decide to stop eating cake. We will encounter social pressure which challenges our resolve, e.g. we attend a birthday celebration where we are encouraged to eat cake. The best defence is to create an automatic rule, I do not eat cake, before we face such situations. This approach also works for positive habits we wish to establish. I walk at least 2 miles every day. At the end of the working day, my default behaviour is to put on my walking boots, coat and backpack and off I go. It’s part of who I am.
3. Avoid the results of the herd
Thinking for yourself is still a radical act. - Nancy Kline
Social pressures to copy others are very powerful. In many situations, the wisdom of the crowd serves us well. However, if we do what everyone else does then we will get similar results as everyone else. Fear holds us back from taking risks and reaching our potential. Doing something different does not guarantee success, but it opens the possibility of radically changing the outcome. The key is to provide positive deviation.
Pieter Levels did not follow most of his graduate friends into safe corporate jobs. Instead, he set himself the challenge of creating 12 startups in as many months. Now Pieter is a digital nomad with a £3m per year business.
4. Embrace responsibility
It may not be our fault, but it is our responsibility. Self accountability means taking responsibility for our actions and using this to progress. Extrinsic rewards are nice, but not necessary. Our honest judgements about ourselves are more important than anyone else’s. When we make mistakes, we should take responsibility and learn from them. We are in charge of our own lives. Those that lack self accountability tend to succumb to the external pressures and blame others for their circumstances. There is always something we can do today to better our position tomorrow. One of the most life changing pieces of advice I adopted was to Pick Ourselves, rather than wait for permission from others.
5. Prioritise outcomes over ego
Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, your worst enemy already lives inside you; your ego. - Ryan Holiday
Our ego urges us to feel that something is right at the expense of actually being right. We will unconsciously rearrange the world to convince ourselves that we are right and others wrong. When we have an idea that we share with others, we can become overly defensive. Accepting feedback and suggestions for improvement is hard. The way to address this is to switch our focus to the desired outcome.
My wife, Marcia, kindly reviews drafts of this blog. I believe I am getting better at embracing her feedback, but I have to resist my natural urge to push back. She is right more often than I care to admit.
Other resources
Rules for Better Thinking interview with Shane Parrish
Balancing Explore v Exploit Data Trade-offs post by Phil Martin
Better Decisions in 6 Steps post by Phil Martin
I’ll let Shane Parrish share some closing thoughts. Every choice you make is a step toward or away from the person you want to become. No single choice will get you where you want to go. Only repeated steps over time in the same direction will move you forward.
Have fun.
Phil…
Lovely article 👍